burros can be negotiated through the canyon.

[kadioguy]

In the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, it says:

burros can be negotiated through the canyon.

source: https://goo.gl/fD9htp
----
What do this sentence and the word 'negotiated' mean?

Would you so kind as to help me?
Thanks!

PS I also posted the same question on this, but all of your answers are unique to me. Hope we can discuss with each other. Thank you.

 

[Mister Micawber]

burros can be negotiated through the canyon.

Burros (a kind of equine related to horses) can be carefully led through the canyon (a long deep valley with very steep sides).

 

[SoothingDave]

I don't agree with this use of the passive here. The burro may negotiate the difficult path, but they are not "negotiated" by some other actor.

 

[Lynxear]

I agree with SoothingDave.

At first, since this link goes to a Chinese version of the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, I thought it might have been a bad translation. However, I checked the English version and that is how they wrote the sentence when describing "canyon".

"Negotiate" in this context means to pick your way slowly through a dangerous pathway.

I would rather see the sentence look something like:

The burros negotiated their way along a rock strewn canyon path.
[h=1][/h]

 

[emsr2d2]

It should most definitely be "rock-strewn" in that context, Lynxear.